Is Mike Ashley trying to annoy Newcastle fans?

05 November 2009 12:32
THE DAILY BUNG'S LUNCHTIME HEADLINES[LNB]Liverpool's Andriy Voronin has been dropped from the Ukraine squad after coaching Alexei Mikhailichenko decided -rightly that the centre-forward at England's most successful club is not as good as Dnipropetrovsk's Volodymyr Homenyuk. [LNB]Manchester United's title chances have been boosted with the news that Rio Ferdinand is out for at least six weeks. [LNB]And Jose Mourinho says Andriy Shevchenko is "as good now as he was three years ago". So good enough for Chelsea's reserves, then. [LNB]----[LNB]NAME OF THE GAME[LNB]Are the muppets@St James' Park trying to wind up Newcastle fans? [LNB] "The final insult" has been drafted and redrafted dozens of times since Mike Ashley climbed out of an Umbro bargain bin and bought the Toon. Within months Ashley had achieved the impossible making Freddy Shepherd seem efficient, humble and successful. [LNB]Much like the career of Ricky Gervais, it was funny at first. But no one's laughing now. OK, Sunderland fans are still laughing. Hard. Their latest gag? Newcastle will be sponsored by Tyneside Waterpark next season. TW@ St James' Park. Those who speak text language can stop sniggering now. [LNB]Wigan owner Dave Whelan, Ashley's long-term rival in the Chav clothing market, will undoubtedly stick in a bid. And a whip-round on Wearside could yet see Sunderland fans buy the rights, allowing them to officially rename it Sid James' Park. [LNB]Impossible? You'd think so. But with Ashley and Derek Llambias at the wheel, anything is possible. [LNB]Llambias, Newcastle's chief executive, has in many ways, drawn the shortest straw in football. It is his job to explain Ashley's actions to Newcastle fans. You fancy that gig? But despite the impossibility of his position, Llambias gets zero sympathy. Which, judging by yesterday's interview with the BBC, is exactly what he deserves. [LNB]Not only did Llambias insult Newcastle's fans (average attendance this season 41,251) by saying: "You need to concentrate on supporting the team. You may not like the administration but we're here, we're investing. We've made mistakes in the past but we are doing our best. If you get behind our team, your team, it's necessary." [LNB]He also claimed that he had no idea what Ashley's intentions were: "He may want to take on a partner, I'm not sure we've not had that conversation." Kind of makes you wonder what conversations they are having. Presumably, they just make bets about how useless Newcastle's players are; the kind of bets which, in the past, have led to Llambias sprinting naked across St James' Park. Excuse me, sprinting naked across the pitch at sportingdirect.com@St James' Park. Wouldn't want to put off any potential sponsors now, would we... [LNB]

Source: Telegraph